Platform sole structure for footwear



Feb; 29, 1944.. J. MELTZER 2,342,882

PLATFORM SOLE STRUCTURE FOR FOOTWEAR Filed Feb. 23, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet1 r." s Ra i;

lNVENTbR Jae/l Melly er BY l I ATToRNYs Feb. 29, 1944. J MELTZ'ERPLATFORM SOLE STRUCTURE FOR FOOTWEAR 2 Sheets-sheaf 2 FiledFe b. 23,194:

INVENTCRY Jae/Z jlleli A TORNE a;

Patented F eb. 29, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT oF icE PLATFORM SOLESTRUCTURE FOR v FOOTWEAR Jack Meltzer, New York, N. Y. ApplicationFebruary 23, 1943, Serial No. 476,834

5 Claims.

My present invention'relates generally to footwear and has particularreference to an improved platform sole structure. v

It is a general object of my invention to provide an article of footwearwhose structural nature is of such a character that it can bemanufactured without necessitating the use of a last or any otherspecial machinery or devices and without requiring any turning procedureor otherdifficult steps ordinarily calling for specialized, skill. Thepresent improved structure is characterized by its simplicity, and maybe manufactured and assembled by a series of simple procedural stepswhich even the most unskilled person is able to perform withoutdifiiculty. I

In addition to the great saving in time; cost, and labor which is thusachieved, the present invention has numerous other advantages. Itmay beemployed toproduce footwear with a relatively durable outer sole .forstreet wear, or to produce footwear of the soft-sole variety for indooruse. It permits the employment of any selected type or style of upper.It affords the possibility of using an outer heel of conventional type,or a self-contained padded heel, or no heel.

at all. It produces an article of footwear which is unusually attractivein appearance, and lends it-- self readily to innumerable variations inthe selection of the color, nature and texture of the materialsemployed.

One of the main features of an article of footwear constructed inaccordance with the present invention, whether it be a sandal, outdoorshoe, slipper, mule, or any other item, lies in the fact that the solestructure presents a soft and com- No sock lining of any kind isrequired, the upper surface of the present sole structure bein completein itself, of attractive and finished appearance, and devoid of any freeedge portions which might mar its attractiveness, come loose, orotherwise impair its finished workmanlike character. These advantagesare not sacrificed by the addition of a heel, nor by the use of an outerrelatively tough sole of leather or the like,

.35 fortable upper surface to the foot of the wearer.

consists essentially of two opposed'sections which are separatelymanufactured by simple and inexpensive stitching operations, and whichare assembled by the expedient of merely interlacing them. Moreparticularly, the sole structure comprises a bottom section havingamarginal flange extending upwards, an opposedtop section ofcorresponding size and contour having a marginal flange extendingdownwards, a filler fully occupying the space between the sections, anda lacing inter-engaging the flanges to hold their edges in abutment andto retain thefe'ntire assembly together as a finished unit. v

In carrying out my invention, each" section preferably comprises aninitial fiat flexible blank of sheet material which defines the base ofsaid section, and a tape or equivalent strip having its inner edgestitched to the edge of the base. and

in the employment of a tape which is longitudinally non-stretchable,whereby the resultant flange is self-retained in upright position at thefront and rear regions of the section, The necessity for any lasting orother artificially-induced shaping is thus completely dispensed with. Iachieve the foregoing general objects and advantages, and such otherobjects and advantages as may hereinafter be pointed out, in the mannerillustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawings in which: L. v.

Figure 1 is a perspective View of the method of producing the bottom oneof the present platform sections;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the section complete;

Figure 3 is a view similar ing, the nature of the ing the top section;

Figure l is a detailed cross-sectional View taken substantially alongthe line 3-4 of Figure 3; Figure 5 is an exploded view showing thesections of Figure 2 and Figure 3 brought into opposed relationship withcertain illustrative filler pieces between them; w

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the resultant article for footwear inprocess ofbeinglcompleteto Figure 1 illustratprocedure involved informlyassembled;

produce two initially flat flexible blanks of sheet-v material 29 and 2|(see Figures 1 and 3) Substantially conforming in outline to each otherand'to the shape of a foot. Each of these blanks is formed of leather,cloth, or any other selected fiexibile material. blanks I stitch anon-stretchable tape which extends around the entire periphery and whichis relatively stiff transversely so as to define an upstanding marginalflange. In Figure 1 this tape is designated by the reference numeral 22,and in Figure 3 by the reference numeral 23. This 'tape'may be composedof any desired material, such as a braid of fabric, a strip of leather,or the like, the edges being of finished character either by virtue ofan inherent selvage, by doubling the material upon itself, or byemploying a material such as leather whose free edge is adequatelysmooth and finished by itself.

Referring to Figure 1, I preferably start the stitching operation at'themidportion 24 of the base 2|], and it will be observed that the inneredge 25 is secured by stitches 2% to the margin of the base 20, the tape22 extending around-the entire periphery. By virtue of thelongitudinalhonstretchabilityof the tape, it automatically as- "sumes anupright position at the front 'and'rear regions, as indicated at theright in Figure Land when the parts have been completely connected'thetape is turned into the position shown in Figure 2'so that theedgesof the base 20 form an integral marginal flange which lies on the insideof the tape and is thus completely concealed.

The tape 22 is preferably provided with a series -of spaced perforationsZLfor a purposepres- -ently to be described, but the perforations is notabsolutely essential.

the preformationof The resultant section shown in Figure 21s intended toserve as the bottom section of a-platform sole structure of the presentcharacter,-and

this section is in an inverted position'as viewed in Figure 2. When theparts are to beassembled, and in the finished article of footwear, thisbottom section assumes the position shownmost clearly at the lower endof Figure 5, the marginal flange and tape extending in anupward-direction. It will be observed that the tape is of uniform heightthroughout its extent. This is preferable for the bottom section of thestructure, but not absolutely essential, as will be pointed outhereinafter.

The braid or tape 23 (Figure 3) is stitched to the base 21 in a similarmanner, the inner edge 28 being secured by a row of stitching 29 to themargin of the base blank 29. Here too, the lon- 'gitudinalnon-stretchability of the tape 23 brings about an automatic dispositionof the flange in a self-retaining upright position at the front and rearregion of the resultant section, and when the tape has been fullyapplied, it is turned down fas shown at the upper end of Figure 5, to,provide 'a flanged top section which is complementary with respect tothe bottom section. In the finished structure, it'will be observed thatthe edge To the edge of each of these the course of its manufacture.assume any desired shape or style, and in the of the base 2! forms anintegral marginal flange which lies on the inside of the tape and isthus completely concealed. The tape 28 is also preferably provided withspaced perforations 30.

It will be observed that the attachment of the tape 23 is commenced at amidportion of the base 2|, as in the case of the section shown inFigure 1. It is of advantage that the joint, in each case, be disposedalong the inner edge of the resultant sole structure, i. e., along theleft edge of the right shoe, and along the right edge of the left shoe.

I have illustrati'vely shown the manner in which an upper is associatedwith the top section during The upper may accompanying drawings I haveshown, merely by way of example, an upper which consists of the twocrossing strips 3! and 32 arranged at the forward portion ofthestructure. These strips are secured to the corresponding'edge'porti'ons of the base 2| by ordinary stitching. This attachrnentmay be accomplished as a preliminary step, or it may be accomplished"(as illustratively shown in the present drawings) "by the same row ofstitching 29 by means of whichthe tape '23 is secured to the peripheraledge of 'theblank 2|. In either case, the resultant top section (see theupper part of Figure 5) hasthe'lower'edge of the uper (3|; 32) engagedbeneath the. flange defined by the braid or tape 23.

In the simplest embodiment of the; invention, the top andbottom"sections "thus formed are brought together with-the flanges directedtoward each other, and aifiller is introduced between the sectionstofully and snugly occupy the enclosed space. Thisfiller'may be composedof any desired material,and'while? it may consist of one piece, itpreferably comprises superposed elements including at leastone atthe;top which is relatively soft and at least one. atthe bottom which isrelatively stiff. In Figures 5-7 I have illustratively shown afiller'consisting merely of two superposed elements '33 and 134, eachbeing made of soft matted material, the; element .33 being adapted tofitsnugly into'the confines of the top section, the element 34 beingadapted to fit upon choice. Atypica1xlace"35is shown inFig- 'ure 6,extendinginsimplemanner from one to the other of 't'heperforations 21aiidftfl. .It is most convenient to employ a needle or. threadingelement38 for this purposabut it is notnecessary that the needle becurved-.as'lshownin Figure 6, since the flanges'of the vtwo sections areeasily'manipulableby hand to permit the desired interlacing to beeffected. Anordinary lace having a rigid tip at its end, suchcas. is.used in an ordinary shoe-lace, may also beus'ed.

The lacing operation may becompleted in any desired manner, and Iprefer. toextend the lacing through a few additional turnsand thentopcut it off close, whereby the ends lie invisibly within the confinesof the structure.

Certainof the-advantages of thepresent invention are most clearlyillustrated in Figure 7.

' It will be observed thatthe structure has a smooth is applied to thisfiller.

structure is staunch and firm, attractive in appearance, and providedwith an upper surface whichzissoft and comfortable. The attractivenessof.the item is not marred by thelacing,

and,.;quite "to the contrary, the lacing imparts an ornamental eflect ofunique and pleasing character. -The ornamental appearanc may be onehanced by properly selecting the material of which thebase blanks andtape are made, and by choosinglalacing of.harmonious type and color.Heavy colored cord, a leather. thon-g,,or any of a variety of otherinteresting materials may be employedfor thispurpose.

a Moreover, the invention lends itself readily. to numerous variationsby virtue of th different modes, of, lacing which may be employed. Forexample, in- Figure 8, the upper and lower flanges 3Land 38. are securedin abutting relationship bytwo-sets'of laces 39 and 40 threaded throughthe flanges in such a way that a series of crosses results... In Figure9, laces 4| and 42 are used to provide a slightly different'design ofsuccessive V-shapes. In Figure 10, laces 43 and 44 are employed toproduce a zig-zag effect. One or more laces may be employed for thispurpose, and a large number of differentbrnamentaleme bellishments maybe achieved. In each case,'the lacing holds the top and bottom sectionssecure,- ly together, with the filler .fully occupying the space betweenthesesections, thus uniting the parts into a single structure. 3

In Figure '11 I have illustrated the adaptability of the presentinvention to the use (if desired) of an outer heel 45. When such a heelis to be employed, it is applied to the outside of the bottom sectionprior to the assembly of the parts as shown in Figure 5. A fillerelement 45 is inserted into the section, and a shank stiffener 41 In theillustrated embodiment, the shank stiffener 4'! has a portion extendingforwardly'to reinforce the shank portion of the resultant shoe, andIhave also indicated the manner in which a conventional steelreinforcement or arch-supporting element 48 may be carried on. theunder-side. of the stiffener 41, if desired. The heel 45 issecured inposition by means of nails or equivalent fastening elements 49 which aredriven downwardly through the stiffener 4'! and the filler 46 into theheel 45. When thisbottom section is brought together with a top section(within which a filler is accommodated, such as the filler 33 of Figurethe shank stifiener 41 is completely concealed and embedded within theresultant filler, and in thefinished shoe the upper surface of theplatform sole structure is justas soft and comfortable as it would bewithout the presence of the outer heel 45. It will beobserved that theouter appearance of the device is thus entirely unaffected by thepresence of the heel, that the heel is'not precariously glued on butfirmly held in place by nails or the like, that there is no nail coverneeded,

and that the heel of the'wearer rests upon a soft which shows how theheelof the wearer may be elevated-without providing anflouter heel asshown inFigure 11.

flange 52 securedtoit by stitching 53, the'flange 52 being of uniformheight throughout itsextent, this bottom section being thussubstantially.

the same as that, which is shown in Figure 2 and at the lower end ofFigure 5. The upper section, however, consists of a base 54 to which aflange-55 is secured by means of stitching 56, the flange 55 being ofincreased height at the rear end of the structure and diminishing inheightgradually toward the front. These two sections are broughttogether, as before, so that the flanges have their edges'in abutment,as indicated in Figure 12, and a lacing 51 extends-all around thestructure to hold the parts together.

On the inside, filler elements 58 are employedpto fully occupy the spacewithin the sections, and

additional filler material is, used in the rear region of the structureto, correspond with the-inmay be of uniform height and the varyingheight may be provided on the flange of the bottom section, or bothflanges. may be of non-uniform height depending upon the ultimateappearance desired,

Figure 12 alSoindicatesthe manner in which an outer sole 59, of leatheror, the like, may be adhesively or otherwise secured to the underside ofthe present structure, should such outer sole be deemed desirable toincrease the wearing qualities of the bottom surface. Such outer solemay also be applied to the structure shown in Figure 11, extendingeither partly or wholly from the front to the rear of the heeledstructure.

One of the outstanding advantages of the present invention lies in itsextreme simplicity. From the foregoing description, it will be observedthat there is no requirement for any lasting whatsoever, nor for anydifiicult turning procedure or other specialized operations. The entiremanufacture and assembly of the structure may be carried out without thenecessity for any special skill in the shoe-building art. In fact, theassembly of the parts is so simple, that even the ultimate user mayseparate the sections and relace them together for the purpose of suchreplacement of the top or bottom sections as may be desired.

In general, it will be understood that the details herein described areoffered merely by way of illustration, for the purpose of explaining thenature of my invention, and that changes in these details may be made bythose skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A platformsole structure for footwear comprising a bottom sectionhaving an upwardly extending integral marginal flange, an opposed topsection of corresponding size and contour and having a downwardlyextending integral marginal flange, a tape secured to the flange of eachsection on the outside thereof, the edges of said tapes being inabutting relation, a filler fully occupying the space between saidsections, and

a lacing interengaging said tapes around the cm In Figure 12, the bottomsection consists of a base 5| and an upstanding tire periphery of thestructure and securing said sections together.

2. A platform sole structure for footwear comprising a bottom sectionhaving an upwardly extending integral marginal flange, an opposed topsection of corresponding size and contour and having a downwardlyextending integral marginal flange, each of said sections comprising aninitially flat flexible blank of sheet material, a tape having its inneredge stitched to the flange of each section on the outside thereof, saidtape being relatively stifi transversely and the edges of said tapesbeing in abutting relation, a filler fully occupying the space betweensaid sections, and a lacing interengaging said tape around the entireperiphery of the structure and securing said sections together.

3. A platform sole structure for footwear comprising a bottom sectionhaving an upwardly extending integral marginal flange, an opposed topsection of corresponding size and contour and having a downwardlyextendin integral marginal flange, a tape secured to the flange of eachsection on the outside thereof, the edges of said tapes being inabutting relation, a filler fully occupying the space between saidsections, and a lacing interengaging said tapes around the entireperiphery of the structure and securing said sections together, saidfiller being of smaller area than the bottom section disposing the tapethereof with its lower edge above'the bottom of said bottom section.

4. A platform sole structure for footwear comprising a bottom sectionhaving an upwardly extending integral marginal flange, an opposed topsection of corresponding size and contour and having a downwardlyextending integral marginal flange, each of said sections comprising aninitially flat flexible blank of sheet material, a tape having its inneredge stitched to the flange of each section on the outside thereof, saidtape being relatively stiff transversely and longitudinallynonstretchable so that it is self retained in upright position at thefront and rear regions of the section, the edges of the tapes of therespective sections being in abutting relation, 8. filler fullyoccupying the space between said sections, and a lacing interengagingsaid tapes around the entire periphery of said structure and securingthe sections together,

5. A platform sole structure for footwear comprising a bottom sectionhaving an upwardly extending integral marginal flange, an opposed topsection of corresponding size and contour and having a downwardlyextending integral marginal flange, a tape secured to the flange of eachsection on the outside thereof, the edges of said tapes being inabutting relation, a filler fully occupying the space between saidsections, and a lacing interengagingsaid tapes around the entireperiphery of the structure and securing said sections together, saidfiller comprising superposed elements including a relatively stiffelement at the bottom of smaller area than the bottom section disposingthe flange of said bottom section turned over said stiflf filler elementand with the lower edge of the tape thereof above the bottom of thebottom section.

JACK MELTZE-R.

